Bike Rack City Marked

We’re stoked to see community organizations like Multicultural Communities (familiar to many of us via their City of Lights program) put on events like the “Bike Rack City Ride” to educate and empower the public about our bicycle sidewalk parking program. In case you’re not familiar with the program, the city offers free bicycle parking in the form of inverted-U shape racks along sidewalks in front of commercial areas. We depend on your requests to help us provide bicycle parking where it is needed most. Your requests have contributed to an all time high of over 600 racks installed this past fiscal year.

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Los Angeles Sharrows: Pre-Installation Studies

(Ed. Note: With the forthcoming release of the LADOT Bike Program SLM (Shared Lane Marking) Study, the LADOT Bike Blog would like to take you back to the summer of 2010 and share with you the methodology of our Sharrow study.  Confused?  Check out our Sharrows 101 post or our Sharrows Page.)

Over three weeks in late May and early June of 2010, LADOT Bike Blog took part in pre-installation studies for the LADOT Shared Lane Marking (Sharrows) Study.  The study documented the interactions between drivers and bicyclists when a bicyclist traveled at the position where Sharrows would later be installed.  At the end of the summer, LADOT Bike Blog again took part in studying the interactions between drivers and bicyclists, this time with Sharrows in place.  It all culminates with the release in the next few days of the LADOT Bicycle Program SLM report.

Newly installed Sharrows on 4th Street

While the LADOT Bike Blog will have another write-up on the results of the report (and what it means for Los Angeles’ streets), we first wanted to give you a look at the goals, the methods, and the standards we used for the Sharrow study.

We don’t just want Sharrows, we want Sharrows the right way.  We’re happy to give you a look at how we got there.

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Bicycle Parking Ordinance Passes City Planning Commission

The Los Angeles City Planning Commission today took a step towards making Los Angeles a truly bicycle friendly city.  In a unanimous vote, the Commission adopted a Bicycle Parking Ordinance that would vastly expand the number of new bike parking spaces required in new developments of all kinds throughout Los Angeles. You can follow the blow-by-blows of the hearing at the twitter feed BikeBlogChris, or the hashtags #bikeLA and #lamtg.  You can download a copy of the pdf here.

Over 15 dedicated bicyclists and advocates showed up in City Hall Room 350 today to support the ordinance.  Kudos are due to Rye Baerg, the driving force behind the ordinance in the City Planning Department, and all the dedicated members of the public who have helped the ordinance reach where it is today.

Thanks, Rye (image courtesy LACBC)

The next step for the Bicycle Parking Ordinance is a hearing before the PLUM (Planning & Land Use Management) Committee.  Once through PLUM, the ordinance goes to a full hearing before the City Council before becoming part of the City’s municipal code.  When the ordinance is agendized from the PLUM Committee, we’ll be sure to let you know.

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The Great Bicycle Parking Survey of 2011

Bike Racks – Present and Future

via the Bicycle Fixation Blog

LADOT Bike Blog is looking for volunteers to help inventory all of LADOT’s installed bicycle parking.  If you’d like to help, contact us at ladotbikeblog@gmail.com.

The LADOT Bike Program has installed over 4,000 bicycle “Inverted-U” racks, and 454 meter hitches, throughout the City over the last 15 years.  This is only the beginning, as LADOT has averaged just under 100 new racks per month since the start of this year.

LADOT Bike Blog understands that safe parking is integral to encouraging bicycling in Los Angeles.  Potential bike riders are far more likely to ride when they are confident that there will be available, convenient, and safe bike parking once they reach their destination.  But even when plentiful bike parking is supplied, it’s still a crapshoot to find a bike rack near a destination unless the rider has been there before and already knows where bike parking is located.  Even worse, a bicyclist unfamiliar with an area may lock their bike to something less safe when an available LADOT bike rack is nearby.  To address these concerns, the LADOT Bike Program is launching:

The Great Bicycle Parking Survey of 2011

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Foothill Boulevard Bike Lane Before the Foothill Trails NC

(Ed. Note: I, Christopher Kidd, am back from the Comprehensive Exam for his degree in Urban Planning at USC.  We’ll have a recap on yesterday’s BPIT meeting up in the next few days.  In the meantime, here’s an update on our department’s attempt to bring bike lanes to Foothill Boulevard.)

The LADOT Bike Program has, among other projects, been working to bring nearly 4 miles of new bike lanes to the north-eastern San Fernando Valley on Foothill Boulevard.  LADOT Bikeways engineers last month presented to the Foothill Trails Neighborhood Council on a 1.5 mile section of this street.  In taking comments from the NC, the specter of equestrian-bicyclist conflict once again raised its head, though in different form than we saw during the hearings for the LA Bike Plan.

Below the fold we’ll cover the project particulars, the concerns raised by the Foothill Trails NC, some possible compromises drafted by LADOT, and what you can do to make your opinion heard.

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BAC Notes 4/5/11: Welcome New BACer Jennifer Gill!

First Tuesdays can be busy! In addition to the monthly Bicycle Plan Implementation Team (BPIT) meeting in the afternoon, the day also featured the bi-monthly Los Angeles Bicycle Advisory Committee (BAC) meeting in the evening. It was the first full meeting as BAC Chair for Jay Slater and featured a brand new BAC member, as well.

Jennifer Gill, who manages outreach efforts for  the Metro Bicycle Roundtable meetings, was present for her first meeting as the new BAC representative for CD 1.  Council Member Ed Reyes, long known for his strong support of bicycling, made a great decision in appointing such a capable and progressive supporter of bicycling.  We wish Jennifer the best in her new role on the BAC and hope that she can bring new energy, ideas, and gravitas to the Los Angeles Bicycle Advisory Committee.

Tuesday’s meeting was well attended by both BAC members and members of the public.  Fourteen out of the 19 sitting BAC members were in attendance.  And 15 other individuals – including Alexis Lantz of the Los Angeles County Bicycle Coalition and Don Ward of SafeStreetsNorthridge and Midnight Ridazz fame – made the trip to 6501 Fountain Avenue (Google map it).

Below the fold, we’ll get into highlights of the meeting: an update from Sergeant Krumer, discussion of the LA County Bike Plan, more specifics on the BAC Liaison Program, the BAC’s future website, an update on City Planning’s Bike Parking Ordinance, and the effort to bring a universal bicycle registry to Southern California.

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Update: Metro Orange Line Extension Bike Path

The opening of the Metro Orange Line BRT in the fall of 2005 greatly expanded mobility options for the notoriously auto-centric San Fernando Valley. The original 14 mile leg that stretches from Warner Center to North Hollywood has been a big success, surpassing Metro’s own 2020 ridership goals in just seven months.

Running beside the busway for a majority of its length is the Orange Line bike path – a Class I bicycling facility (a small section on the busway’s extreme eastern end has Class II bike lanes). According to the LA City Bike Plan, Class I facility’s are “ideal for novice riders and children, recreational trips, and long distance commuter bicyclists of all skill levels who prefer separation from traffic.”  The bike path has also been a big hit and has helped Valley residents realize the value of investments in adequate bicycling and pedestrian facilities.

Picture taken shortly after the openning of the Orange Line Bike Path

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